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Gathering around the Table: A Story of Purpose-Driven Change through Business
In 2007 Kari Warberg Block gained a patent for the country's first botanical-based no-kill system of pest control and, in that moment, began changing the environmental landscape forever. But the road to this sort of impact didn't come without a few challenges along the way. A farm wife who once lived off the land and worked tirelessly to raise her two children, Kari had the grit and tenacity to tackle every fight that came her way. But those battles weren't just about victory. They also became about finding clarity around her purpose, her integrity, and how far she was willing to go to make a difference in the world that didn't easily want to be changed. From losing her land to losing her life, Kari shows us, through her beautiful storytelling, what it means to see life through the lens of making an impact worth leaving behind. Gathering around the Table shows the importance of value-based decision-making as the foundation of conscious leadership, and demonstrates how navigating obstacles from a place of personal beliefs and strong morals can lead to businesses-and lives-filled with prosperous financial growth, greater social impact, and deep personal fulfillment.
202 pages, Hardcover
Published March 24, 2021
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August 15, 2021
The title of this book misled me a little… ignoring the subtitle, I initially thought it was going to focus on family connections made stronger through food, drink, and time spent together. And in some ways, this book is about that, but not in the way you might expect.
The author, Kari Block, is the CEO of EarthKind, a company producing no-kill pest deterrents. This innovative and sustainable idea came from the mind of Kari, herself, and she’s built an impressive company around that very powerful initial thought, proving once again that thoughts are things.
Her book also touches on the perils of government regulation: specifically how that regulation helps large corporations in their attempts edge out small businesses like EarthKind. The good news is that such obstacles can’t really stop a strong woman focused on rising to her purpose.
At one point in the story, Kari was part of a roundtable discussion trying to brainstorm and solve a problem of illegal activity on a local waterway. Kari’s suggestion was to deputize the local fishermen, an idea that would have also likely occurred to Elinor Ostrom, the Nobel-prize-winning economist who pioneered work in public choice theory. Ostrom’s work showed that local knowledge allows “locals” to know best how to “govern” their own parts of the world, and that they should be allowed to do so rather than having that pupose taken over by a larger, more remote, and out-of-touch central authority. That Kari naturally thinks along the lines of public choice theory shows her to be economically intuitive.
Kari’s book is an inspiring view from the top while also an illuminating and instructive report from the trenches on how to succeed at conscious capitalism.
The author, Kari Block, is the CEO of EarthKind, a company producing no-kill pest deterrents. This innovative and sustainable idea came from the mind of Kari, herself, and she’s built an impressive company around that very powerful initial thought, proving once again that thoughts are things.
Her book also touches on the perils of government regulation: specifically how that regulation helps large corporations in their attempts edge out small businesses like EarthKind. The good news is that such obstacles can’t really stop a strong woman focused on rising to her purpose.
At one point in the story, Kari was part of a roundtable discussion trying to brainstorm and solve a problem of illegal activity on a local waterway. Kari’s suggestion was to deputize the local fishermen, an idea that would have also likely occurred to Elinor Ostrom, the Nobel-prize-winning economist who pioneered work in public choice theory. Ostrom’s work showed that local knowledge allows “locals” to know best how to “govern” their own parts of the world, and that they should be allowed to do so rather than having that pupose taken over by a larger, more remote, and out-of-touch central authority. That Kari naturally thinks along the lines of public choice theory shows her to be economically intuitive.
Kari’s book is an inspiring view from the top while also an illuminating and instructive report from the trenches on how to succeed at conscious capitalism.
Displaying 1 of 1 review